Mountain View Diner = WIN

Redline time attack , well they need some work on organization, communication, and safety.

 

I felt bad for RTA in a way. With entries so low, dynamics change. Do I think some stricter measures could have been exercised? Anyone who knows me knows the answer to that one. I know Chris had things start off rough that morning, everything from the name list at the front gate to the late arriving corner workers(from what I heard) to the green track conditions early in the day.

IIRC, RTA didn't originally include HPDE's. It was strictly a time attack format.

On the other end of things, I know Jon(GETFAST) puts out a good product when working with TrackDaze. I'm guessing that the marriage of the two entities(RTA & GETFAST) this time around had some pitfalls from a control standpoint. Having hosted an event myself and having worked with a second group to host a track event on a separate occasion, I know there will be times of disagreement and eventual compromise.

My overall take:

I must say, from a safety standpoint, my biggest beef was cars being allowed out in inappropriate run groups. Also, no one in Novice should have been solo'd. That's just my opinion. Just because a person can handle his/her own vehicle does not mean they are ready to be solo'd. There is so much more to driving on track than that. If an instructor/driver thinks he or she is ready for Intermediate, then that driver and instructor should move up a notch... together, and see how the student responds. Does faster traffic fluster the driver? Is the driver truly aware and able to recognize corner stations(keeping eyes up)? Not likely. Does the driver put himself/herself/someone in a position that might be bad? Those are things taught through experience, not necessarily instruction.

 

Hey Skip,

There is no "marriage of the two entities." All Get Fast was there to do was provide classroom & instruction yesterday.

Specifically the control, organization, communication, and overall handling of the event - everything EXCEPT specifically three classroom sessions for novices, and providing in car instructors for novices - had nothing to do with Get Fast.

We were happy to offer limited additional help when Redline asked us to yesterday morning... but it was assistive & supervisory at best, and at no point did we assume any decision-making ability with regard to anything but classroom & instruction.

As you know, Get Fast typically runs a much more structured & developed HPDE format with TrackDaze and various other organizations. REDLINE @ SHENANDOAH WAS NOT A GET FAST EVENT.

Thanks,

Jon

 

Skip, also to be clear, Get Fast was only asked by Redline to provide the following as part of the blue/novice group "drivers school":

-3 classroom sessions for blue/novice students (nothing for green/intermediate or red/advanced.)

-10 in-car instructors for blue/novice students only, with one lead-follow session behind instructors then 1 or 2 instructed sessions for each blue/novice student (no instructing all day long and no instructing for green/intermediate students.)

As we do dozens of times a year, we provided limited event services to the client's exact specification. This is not how we run regular HPDE's, but it is how Redline wanted theirs. And we did what we were asked to do perfectly thanks to Colin Jevens and a bunch of great instructors, including yourself.

At any rate I suggest that you - and everyone else - share your comments & suggestions directly with Redline.

Jon

 

Thanks for chiming in, Jon. "Marriage" probably wasn't the best word. Perhaps "contractual arrangement" would have been more concise and correct.

As always, I enjoyed chatting with you. I'll be sure to pass along to Chris Cobetto my TT intention. After deciding to give up my 2.5L, he'd better not scrap TT's for next year.

 

We lost several more cars on Sunday (luckily none were S2000s). There were 7 serious crashes in the Karussel alone over the weekend. It wouldn't surpirse me if RTA doesn't come back to Shenandoah next year, there's just not enough runoff in the Karussel and Big Bend. I love the track but it is dangerous.

 

Hope everyone is ok, It's always hard to hear about accidents on track.

 

Wow,

So....?

How did you do?

What about the rest of the group?

Lou, Calvin, Scot?

 

Some S2000 related pics...

 

I think Scot got 2nd behind the prick driven 600hp Robispec car. Steve was up there somewhere and Calvin and I finished mid-pack. I'm disappointed I couldn't match my practice time from yesterday and ended up with a freakin' 1:43.5. I'm not sure where Lou finished in Street RWD.

It was a good time but it is a little disconcerting to see so many cars carried off the track.